Pete Yorn

While it's all the rage of late to take a beloved record on the road, not many of the classics being revisited are barely a decade old. Such is the case with Pete Yorn's musicforthemorningafter, his 2001 debut that was released while rap-rock was getting kicked around by skinny punks in the Vines, the Hives, the Strokes, and the White Stripes. Yorn's straightforward rock wasn't as aggressive as the aforementioned Bizkit-slayers, but was no less refreshing and isn't nearly as placid as so much of today's smooth-indie fare. Lead singles "Life On a Chain" and "Strange Condition" are just as drivable as they were pre-9/11, and closing cut "Simonize" is no less haunting. Yorn has yet to make a blockbuster record. But he can go to bed every night knowing he made a classic. With Ben Kweller. CHRIS KORNELIS